Apparatus for filling bottles



Jan. 7, 1930. P. wfsHlELDs 1,742,287 APPARATUS FOR FILLING BOTTLESINVENTOR PM LW WM Jan. 7, 1930. P W, sHlELDs 1,742,287

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BOTTLES Filed May 8. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 'PMwem-r' i Jan. 7, 1930# P; w. SHIELDS 1,742,287

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BOTTLES Filed May 8. 192e Y a s,'r1ee:s-.sheetv 5INVENTOR Jan. 7, 1930. P. w. sHlELDs 1,742,237

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BOTTLES y Filed May 8. 1926 a sheetssheet 4y M wmJarl. 7, 1930. 'R SHIELDS f 1,742,287

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INVENTOR "\L" @mi APPARATUS FOR FILLING BOTTLES l -Fileal May 8. 19,26 ssheets-shew e INVENTQR WQNXKSQWPML Jan. 7, 1930. P. w. sHrELDs APPARATUSFILLING BOTTLESl Filed May 8. 1926 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTQR P. W.SHIELDS Filed May 84926 APPARATUS' Fn FILLING BOTTLES Jan. 7, 1930.

fr# thereafter preferably` moved a further dis- Patentecl Jan. 7, 1.93()

UNITED x STATES rammen W. sHIELDs, OF rirrsnfuneii,

BRASS a MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

y CORPORATION or" EENNSYIIVANIA PATENT OFFICE PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To.MCKENNA ING., 0r PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A

Arrann'rus Foa FILLING BOTTLES ApplicationA filed May 8,

i This invention relates to apparatus for filling bottles, and isparticularly useful in connection with a bottle iilling machine havingplurality of stationary filling heads.

' a plurality of filling heads, a conveyor adapt- I provide abottlelling machine including `ed` to carry bottles in a plurality ofpaths Mic ping them to assist in the removal of the` bottles fromthefilling head. The bottlesflare tance sidewise `to take them out offilling alignment with the head and `onto another conveyor by which theyane moved away from the lilling machine.

Preferably the bottlesfor the several'heads are'supplied insubstantially parallel paths spaced differentV distances. fromthe llingheads, and means arevprovided formovingthe ia Y of the .bottlewhen the`bottle is in filling alignment with i the. head.

'rotate from a position on one side ofthe lilling headlacross theaisisof` the headi proper to a position on the opposite side ofthe ill`ing head, suitableprovision. being made for interrupting thismovement topermit iilling Further provision is made for accomplishing thismovementof the arms through yielding means, such as springs, so that thegripping ofthe bottles and the movement thereof accomplished in suchmanner that bottles of varyingsize lmay behandled and danger of breakagefrom amming of the machine is eliminated. I i

192s. serial Nd. 107,610.

I :furtherA provide a novel arrangement of the driving mechanism andialsovarious other features of adjustment, all of which are valuable inapparatusfof thischaracter.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l isa frontelevation of a two-head bottling machine embodying apresent preferred form of my invention with the cover on the lowerportion of the mechanism` broken away;

Figure 2 is a back elevation to` enlarged scale of the, lower portion ofthel apparatus shown in Figure 1, the cover being removed;

`Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line III-III of Figuresl and 2,l

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line IV-IVQ of Figure 2; I

Figure 5. is an end view, partly broken away, of the apparatus shown inFigure 2;

l, Figure is a verticalI section, partly broken away, on the line VIf-VI`of Figure 2;.

Figure 7 isa vertical section, partly broken away, on the line VII-VIIof Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a. horizontal section, partly brokenl away,on the line`VIII-VIII of Figure 7 Figure 9 is aventical section on the line IXe-IXof Figure 8,;

Figure l0 is an elevation, partly, broken away, of the. springbarrel;shown, iny the upper. right hand. portionv of Figure 7 and Figure 1I isa view taken at right angles to Figure l0. I

In` theillustrated embodiment of my invention there is shown abottlingmachine hav,- inga pair of stationary bottling heads indicatedgenerally by the reference characters 2 and 3. The constructionof theseheadsdoes not form a part of my present inventionfand the preferred.form of bottling. head; isf-,ully

described in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 222,573, filed Mar. 15,1918. Flach of these heads vis provided with a plunger 4 adapted to movea bottleV axially into4 the lilling head proper whereupon the steps of ybe seen on reference to my co-pending application, Ser. No. 222,573,filed March 15, 1918, above referred to, the entire head is liftedduring this filling operation and for a portion of the time the head islocked in this raised position by an oil cylinder 5 actuated by a valverod 6. Vith the head in locked position the plunger 4 is retractedsomewhat, lowering the bottle part way out of the head and permittingthe feeding of a cap thereabove. rlhe plunger 4 is then again movedupwardly to force the cap into a crowning die, thus capping the bottleunder pressure. The plunger 4 is then lowered to permit removal of thefilled bottle from the head.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a conveyor 7 which extends toany desired point from which it may be desired to feed ottles. Theconveyor 7 comprises a chain flight 8 adapted to feed bottles to thehead 2 and a chain flight 9 adapted to feed bottles to the head 3. Thereference characters a and 3 have been applied to this view to indicatethe heads corresponding tothe portions of the apparatus actually shownin the View. It will be understood that the heads proper lie above theapparatus shown herein.

The bottles which are supplied to the chain flight 8 are carried towardthe head 2, and finally the leading bottle engages a fixed arm 10 whichserves to move the bottle sidewise and into the posit-ion indicatedv indotted lines on the drawings. The. bottles which are supplied on thechain flight 9 move toward the head 3 until they engage a deflector 11which shifts the bottles sidewise onto the chain flight 8, and theAbottles are thus urged to a position relative to the head 3substantially identical with the position taken by the bottles initiallysupplied on the chain flight 8 relative to the head 2.

It will be observed that the structure shown is capable of almostunlimited duplication so that bottles may be moved sidewise in varyingamounts to the several heads, and that the apparatus is thereforeadaptable to machines having more heads than two, as this simplyinvolves supplying additional chain flights and additional deflectors.It will beobserved that the bottles are suplied in paths substantiallyparallel to the ength of the heads. VIt is found that this structureprovides an exceedingly convenient and compact form of apparatus.

The arm 10 associated with the head 2 and the arm 10 associated with thehead 3 Aare each provided with a stop linger 12 as shown in Figure Thesefingers fit in slots in the arms and are hinged for movement verticallyso that vthey may be swung into or out of the path of the movingbottles. The linger which is associated with the head 2 is shown inraised position to permit passage of the bottles to the head, while thefinger which is associated withA the head 3 is shown in lowered positionto prevent feeding of the bottles to this head. With this arrangementany number of heads may be cut out of operation as desired.

Associated with each headis a pair of feeding arms 13 and 14. The armsare pivoted on the same axis and are arranged for movement relative toone another, and are also arranged for movement together. A link 15 ispivoted in the arm 13 at 16 and a link 17 is pivoted in the arm 14 at18. The links 15 and 17 are pivotally connected at 19. It will be seenthat when the arms 13 and 14 are swung toward one another the arm 13 andthe link 15, and the arm 14 and the link 17 are each capable of grippingand moving a ybottle sidewise. The feeding operation may be followed onFigure 3, and is as follows:

The bottles are supplied by the conveyor t0 a position adjacent thefeeding head, the tendency of the conveyor always being to -move theleading bottle to the position indicated in dotted lines for the lillinghead 2. The arm 13 is provided with a portion 2O which prevents theleading bottle from moving into this position when the arm is rotated tothe position shown in Figure 3 so that the leading bottle cannot advanceuntil the arm 13 has been rotated clockwise as viewed in the drawing topermit movement of the bottle to a position between the arm 13 and thelink 15. At this time the arms 13 and 14 are spread apart so that thebottle is free to move into a position where it may be gripped. The arms13 and 14 move relative to one another and this causes the bottle to begripped Ybetween the arm 13 and the link 15. A spring clip 21 mounted onthe link 15 assists in the gripping action. The arms 13 and 14 are thenrotated together in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in thedrawing, thus moving the gripped bottle over the plunger 4 and intofilling alignment with the head. The arms 13 and 14 then rotate awayfrom one another, freeing the bottle by leaving it in position to befilled. The arms 13 and 14 are then both rotated clockwise, the links 15and 17 being retracted a sullicient amount from the preceding operationto permitA the tip of the link 17 to clear the bottle.

During this operation the next bottle on the conveyor has been pressingagainst the portion 20 on the arm 13 and when the. arm is again movedclockwise the bottle moves into position between the arm 13 and the link15 as above described. On the next relative movement of the arms thelast mentioned bottle is gripped for sidewise movement onto the plunger4 while the bottle already on the plunger is gripped between the arm 14and the link 17 for sidewise movement to the discharge conveyor. Thecounter-clockwise lnovement of the arms then takes place as alreadydescribed, movement of the first bottle being. continued a sufficientdistance in the filling head.

to :take it to the conveyor and movement of the second bottle beingcarried out a sufficient distance to place it in filling alignment.

' are therefore effective not only for moving the bottles` sidewise butalso for gripping` them to assist in their axial movement to free themfrom the filling head. VAfter the filled bottle hasbeen moved sidewiseas above described,.the relative opening movement of the arms againtakes place and the bottle is free to move tothe right as viewed in thedrawings on a conveyor 22. The conveyor` 22 carries the bottles from`between the arm 14 and the link 17 and toward an accumulator table 23from which they are removed by hand and cased. In orderto prevent intenference between the filled bottles from the several heads, deflectors 24and 24u are prof trio i The coaccyor mec/tandem The conveyors Tand 22must be` driven in the direction indicated in the arrows in such amanner as to keep the upper' portion of the chain flights taut andtheaccumulator table `must be rotated in the direction of the arrow.There is provided a vertically entending drive shaft 25 connected tohorizontal main shaft 26 near the bottom of the machine (Figure 2)lthrough miter gears 2'?. Vfit the top of the, shaft 25 connection ismadeV through miter gears 28 `to a head vshaft 29 which carriessprockets not shown for driving the conveyor 22. The chain belts of theconveyor 22 ext-end from the head shaft to a tail `shaft 30 and the`tailshaft is driven `from the head shaft through the conveyor itself.The tail shaft 80 carriesa initer gear 3l which drives an idler 32." Theidler in turn drives a miter gear 33 which is connected to the headshaft 34 of the conveyor 7. The tail shaft 35 ofthe conveyor 7 is anidler shaft.

From the above it will be seen that the convcyors 22 and 7 are driven inthe proper direction and that the upper portions of the `chains aremaintainedl taut. at all times.

as the conveyors at all times.

Suitable guides 36, 87, and 38 are provided for defining the course ofthe bottles.

The accumulator table 23 is driven from the shaft 29 through suitablegearing 39 shown in dotted lines in Figure The entire conveyor mechanismis mounted" on a frame 40 which provides a suitable support for theconveyor chains, carries the guides 36, 87 and 38 and is movable un ordown to make adjustment for bott-les of differ-l ent sizes. rlhe tableis mounted on a pair of jack screws 4l lying in the line of the twofilling heads. Each of these jack screws is provided with a worm wheel42 meshing with a worm 43 on a shaft 44. The shaft 44 is a projectingportion 45 adapted to receive a hand crank not shown.l TWhen the handcrank is turned the jack screws 4l are rotated and `serve to raise orlower the table asdesired to heights.

. The accumulator table 23 is carried on a supporting member 46 which is"loosely mount-ed on top of a jack `screw 47. The ack screw 4T isthreaded into a bracket 48 at" tached to the main Aframe of the machine.rlhe jack screw 47 is provided with a worm wheel 49 which meshes with aworin not shown secured to a shaft 50. The shaft 50 is` i 8O mounted onthe base 40 and is provided with l provide for bottles of differentconnected -to the shaft 44 through a sprocket chain 51 so that rotationof the shaft 44 and consequent raising Vof the table also causesrotation. of the shaft 50 and raising of the accumulator table to keepit at the same height prevent rotation of the supporting member 46 thereis provided a downwardly extending rod 52` which slides iii the portion4 82L of the bracket 48 (Figure l).

` Obviously any vertical adjustment of the table will necessitate arelative movement of the shaft 25 androne`ofv the gears'mounted thereon.As shown in Figure 2 in dotted lines the miter gear 27 makes a splineconnection with the shaft 25 th'atthe 'table may be adjusted in anydesired amount without intei` fering with the driving connection.

The feeding arm mechanism The arm 14is mounted onl a sleeve 53 sur` 1invention `beyond supplying a convenient manner of mounting certain ofthe mechanism. The sleeve 53 extends downwardly through theconveyorframe 40 and carries.. at its lower end a pinion 55. A rack 56 en gagesthe pinion 55, and movement ofthe rack 56 is effective for rotating thearm 14. The` rack 56 is carried on a supporting frame 5? and is held inplace by guide rollers 58 and a cover plate 59. The guide rollers 58 aretoothed and the back of the rack is corre` In order to mso spo'ndinglytoothed as I have found that smooth rollers have a tendency to wear flatWhereas the rack and pinion form of roller guide above described isfound to give no trouble whatever in service and to insure long life.

The arm 13 is mounted on a sleeve 6() which surrounds the sleeve 53.This sleeve also extends downwardly and is surrounded by a collar 61mounted in the table 40. In the lower end of the sleeve there is mounteda pinion 62 engaging a rack 63 which is similar to the rack 56. Thecollar 61 prevents water and broken glass from entering the mechanismbelow the table 40.

Rotatably mounted on the upper end of the sleeve 53 is a spring barrel64 containing a coil spring 65, the inner end of which is secured to thesleeve 53 and the outer end of which is secured to the spring barrel 64through a pin 66. The lower face of the spring barrel 64 is providedwith ratchet teeth 67 engaging a pawl 68. The pawl 68 is secured to thearm 13 and it will be clear from Figures 10 and 11 that the springbarrel may be wound up so t-hat the spring will tend to rotate t-he arm13 relative to the sleeve 53 and therefore relative to the arm 14. Thesense of this relative rotation is such that the arms 13 and 14 alwaystend to rotate toward one another and the gripping action ofthe arms isdue entirely to this yieldable spring. Therefore the apparatus iscapable of handling varying Vdiameters of bottles without adjustment ofany sort.

T'he racks 56 and 63 each carry a roller 69. These rollers bear againstpushers 70 and 71 by reason of the tendency of the coil spring` 65 toexpand. It will be clear that movement of the pushers 70 and 71 will beeective for moving the arms 14 relative to oneanother or relative to thestationary parts of the machine as is required for the operationspreviously set forth. The pushers 7 0 and 71 are mounted in a bearingblock 72 secured to the frame and they are each provided with a forkedblock 73 engaging a pin 74 on one arm of a bell crank 75. The bellcranks 75 are pivoted at 76 and are provided on their other arms withrollers 77 bearing against cams 78 and 79 mounted on the main shaft 26.Tension springs 8O secured to the bell cranks urge the pushers 70 and 71against the rollers 69 and these springs are effective for overcomingthe coil spring 65 so that the tendency of the mechanism just describedis to open the feeding arms 13 and 14 as wide'as possible. The closingof the arms can only be effected by the spring 65 when one or both ofthe pushers 70 and 71 are retracted somewhat by one or both of the cams78 and 79. The cams 78 and 79 are so designed as to cause movement ofthe arms in the manner heretofore described. It isnot deemed necessaryto describe the various portions of these cams in detail as the objectto be attained by them will be clear. The cams are effective forpermitting the springs 8O to overcome the action of the spring 65 so asto open the feeding arms 13 and 14; to retract the pushers 70 and 71.fl-

against the force of the springs 80; thus permitting the spring 65 toclose the arms 13 and 14 and grip the bottles in the machine and tocause relative movement of the pushers 70 and 71 so as to determine theposition of the arms 13 and 14 for the purpose of supplying bottles tothe arms, and also to cause relative movement of the arms to effectfeeding of bottles to and from the filling heads.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the feeding action of the armsis accomplished entirely through the yielding springs. This makes theapparatus capable of handling varying sizes of bottles withoutadjustment of any sort and also insures that n0 bottles will be brokenif a jam should occur for any reason. If a bottle, for example, shouldstick in the head the springs 80 would simply fail to function and thebottle could be removed without doing any harm whatever to the bottle orthe mechanism. It will be understood that the followers 77 are notnecessarily in contact witlrthe cams 78 and 79 at all times. These camscause the arms 13 and 14 to open, this action taking place when the highpoints of a cam bears against its follower 77. After such high point haspassed the follower, the l spring 65 is free to bring the arms 13 and 14together. It is effective for closing the arms until such closingmovement is checked by a bottle. This limitation on the closing of thearms imposes a corresponding limitation on the movement of an arm 75,thus causing the follower roller 77 to ride clear of the lower points onits cam. By reason of this provision the arms are effective for grippingbottles of different sizes.

As above stated, it is desirable to grip the bottles during theirremoval from the filling head and provision is therefore made for movingthe gripping arms 13 and 14 vertically with the bottles. This isaccomplished by mounting the supporting frame 57 which carries the racks56 and 63 and also supports the sleeves 53 and 60, on the bottle plunger4. The frame 57 is provided with a lug 81 which fits into the side ofthe member 4, forming a part of the plunger 4 and secured therein byscrews 81a. The member 4LL is carried in a tubular guide 82 which has aslot 83 in the side thereof to accommodate the lug 81. It will be clearthat as the plunger 4 moves upwardly to raise the bottle to fillingposition in the head, the arms 13 and 14 will also move upwardly. Vhenthe plunger 4 is moved downwardly to permit retraction of the bottlefrom the lling head, the arms 13 and 14 also move downwardly, and thetiming of the cams 78 and 79 is such that at this time the filled bottleis gripped between the arm 14 slide downwardly over thev bottle.

and the link 17. At this time an empty bottle is engaged between the arm13 and the link 15, but since these parts are made of Smooth. metal thearm and the link are free to y The arm 14, however, is provided withrubber grippers 84 so that the filled bottle is firmly gripped andpulled out of the filling head in case there is any tendency for thebottle to stick therein.

It will be clear fromFigure 5 that the .vertical movement of thegripping arms and their associated mechanism is entirely independent ofthe pushers and 71 since the vertical faces ofthese pushers willengagethe rollers 69 at any point along the pushers and `the movementofthe `arms can therefore be accomplished regardless of their verticalposition. 1 j

Reference has already been made to the vertical adjustment of theconveyor frame 40 to adapt the machine for different sized bot` `4bcarrying a cam follower 4c which is engaged by thel bottle cam 41mounted von the main shaft 26. Threaded into themember 4b is a jackscrew 85 having a flange 86 which supports the member 4a.

87 carrying a plug 88 upon which the bottles rest during the `eedingoperation. Underneath this plug 88-is a rubber 89 whichrests onltop` ofthe jack screw85. The sleeve 87- is carried in a bearing which ismounted in the conveyor frame 40 and makes a sliding fit in the tubularbearing 82. The bear-` ing 90 is movable up and down withthe table 40and provides a bearing nearfthe top of` the plunger 4. As clearly shownin Figure f 3 the bearing `90 is screwedfto theconveyor frame 40 andextends across the Vframe to the conveyors 9 and 22. The topvof thebearing 90 is at the same level as the conveyor chains so that thebottles can be readily moved from one conveyor across the machine andonto the other conveyor (Figure 7).

When it is desired to adjust the machine to accommodatebottles of'aheight differing r from those previously handled, the main shaft 26 isrotated until the plunger 4 is atits highest position and this exposes ascrew9ll which is threaded in the member 4a and whose headits in anopening 92 in thesleeve 87. The `screw 91` is provided with a flange 93so that when the screwfis threaded .out of the hole in the member 4athis flange engages the inner faceof the tube 87 and prevents movementthereof. By turning thescrew 91 further into` its hole in ,themember.4'nl the `spect to the member 4a.

The member 4a is, surrounded at its upper portion with a sleeve r sleeve87 is freed and may be removed bodily to expose the adjusting mechanism.When the sleeve which carries the plug 88 and the rubber 89has beenremoved the upper end of the jack screw V85 is exposed. The jack screwcarries at its upper end a nut 94 which, when screweddown onto the jackscrew, prevents any movement of the jack screw with re- The nut 94 isprovided witha cross-wise slot, as is the upper end of thejack screw85.1 The nut 94 is prevented from rotation with respect to thejack screw85 by a bar 95 which fits into these two slots.

When the height of the plunger is to be adjusted, the bar 95 is removedand the nut` 94 is loosened. A large screw` driver lor similar tool isthen inserted in the slot in the upper end of the jack screwl85 andthejack screw is rotated a desired amount to raise or lower the upperportion of the plunger 4. After the desired adjustment has been made,the `n'ut"94 is again tightened, the bar 95is put in place, the sleeve87 is placed over the upper end of the member 4 and the screw 91jV isthreaded outwardly to hold thesleeve tightly in place. It will be Aclearthat when thejack screw is rotated so as to alter the relative positionof the members 4a and 4b,

theisupporting frame 57 which carries the feeding arms and the sleeveson which they are mounted will also be moved with the member 4?. 'j

` The drive mechanism The prime mover for the machine isan electricmotor 96. In addition to the usual hand switch there is provided asafety switch mounted in a switch box 97 (Figure 2). The switch isprovided with a switch arm 98 carrying a roller 99 which bears against acam 100. The cam 100 is secured to a sleeve10`1` which` is mounted on` arod 54a forming a part of the head supporting structure. The sleeve f101` extends upwardly through the frame 40 (Figure 7 and is surroundedfor a distance above the frame by a tube 102. This tube is secured inthe table 40 andextends a` sufficient distance thereabove to exclude anywater or broken glass from the space below the table. Carried on theupper end of the sleeve 101 is a lever 103 which extends outwardly overthe conveyor 7 and acts as a gauge for the bottles being fed to the ma-Additional safety is provided by a limit` switch 104 secured to theupper portion of the machine and adapted to be engaged by lugs .105.mounted on the machine heads (Figure 1). Incase a bottle is not fed intoexact filling alignment with a head but is nevertheless a sufficientdistance over the plunger 4 that the bottle will be raised, the upperportion of the bottle will in all. probabillty bear against the lowerportion of the .filling head and tend to raise the same far beyond thenormal distance. In suchr case the lug`105 on the head affected willengage the switch 104 andA stop the motor before any damage is done.

p The motor 96 is connected to a jack shaft 106 through a silent chaindrive 107. The sprocket of thechain drive which is mounted on the`shaft"'106 is Vpreferably connected thereto through a shear inarrangement 108 sothat any jamming of t e mechanism which is notprevented by the safety means already described can do no harm otherthan the shearing of the'pin. A hand wheel 109 is also secured to theshaft 106 to permit manual o eration of the` machine for. purposes of ajusting. vThejack shaft-106 has keyed thereon a pinion 110 engaging agear 111 mounted on a shaft 112. The shaft 112 is carried in anadjustable frame 113 pivoted on a shaft 114 and havinga clamping screw Y115 at its upper end. This clamping screw 115 has a shoulder 116 and hasa threaded portion 117 passing through a slot 118 in a framebracket 119.With this arrangementV the shaft 112 may be moved toward or away fromthe shaft 106 so that the gear 111 may be removed and a gear of adifferent size substituted therefor so as to vary the speed 'of themachine as desired. The gear 111 is secured to the shaft 112 by a bolt120 threaded into the end of the shaft 112 and removal of this boltermits ready replacement of the gear 111. lso mounted on the shaft 112is a pinion 121 engaging a gear 122 on the shaft 114. The shaft 114 isprovided with a pinion 123 meshing with a gear 124 on the main shaft 26.

As already described, the shaft 26 carries the bottle cam 4d and thecams 78 and 79. Tt also carries an operating cam 125 which is effectiw'efor operating a bell crank 126 con nected to the operating rod 6.

It will be understood that the operating mechanism for one head isidentical with the 'operating mechanism for the several other be carriedin an oil bath, thus orreatly increasing the life of the machine. ftisfound that in commercial operation there is always some tendency forwater to enter the lower parts of the machine in spite of allprecautions against its`entry and the machine base is therefore providedwith a sump 127 in which the water collects by reason of its beingheavier than the oil. A stand pipe 128 is connected to the sump and inoperation the water is forced out of this stand pipe as it collects inthe sump 127.

Vhile 1 have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, itwill be understood that it is not thus limited since the invention maybe otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle filling machine, including a pair of substantially parallelconveyors, bottle filling heads disposed between the conveyors, meansfor moving the bottles sidewise from one conveyor into alignment withthe filling head for the filling operation, and a gripper for moving thebottle out of alignment with the filling head onto the second conveyor,said gripper being adapted to grip the vbottle during at least a portionof the filling operation.

2. A bottle filling machine having a plurality of heads, a conveyoradapted to move bottles in substantially parallel paths spaced differentdistances from the heads, means for moving successive bottles from theseveral paths to points substantially equally spaced from the severalheads,and means for moving the bottles successively sidewise relative tothe paths from such points into alignment with the filling heads.

A bottle filling machine having a plurality 'of heads, a conveyoradapted to move bottles in substantial parallel paths spaced differentdistances from the heads, means for moving such bottles from the severalpaths to points substantially equally spaced from the several heads,means for engaging the bottles at such point and moving them sidewiserelative to the paths into alignment with the filling heads, and meansfor continuing the sidewise movement for moving the bottles outofalignment with the filling head.

4f fillingmachine having a plurality of filling heads, a'pair of feedingarms for each head, a conveyor carrying bottles alongside the severalheads, means for positioning the conveyed bottles adjacent the heads andbetween the feeding arms, means for moving the arms relative to oneanother for gripping the positioned bottles, means for moving the armstogether for moving'the bottles sidewise into filling alignment with theseveral heads, and means associated with each head for withholdingconveyed bottles from the positioning means for such head.

.A 5. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a pivotally,Vmounted feeding arm, bottle gripping means on saidarm, means for movingthe arm about its aXis to a bottle receiving point, means for supplyingbottles to such point, means for moving the arm about its axis to carrylthe bottle into filling alignment with the head, and means forwithibi-12,287

` ing head, feeding means having gripping portions which engage a bottleand move it into filling alignment with the head for filling andthereafter move it out of filling alignment, and means for moving thebottle axially while it is in filling alignment, the feeding means`being adapted to grip the bottle and move axially `therewith during atleast a portion of the axial movement.

8. lBottle filling apparatus, including a lling head, a bottle movingplunger, a supply i station alongside the plunger, a shaft substantiallyparallel withA the axis of the head, a bottle feeding arm mounted ontheshaft,

means for rotating the shaft to cause the arm to feed bottles from thesupply station onto the plunger, and means for moving the shaft endwisewhen the arm is engaging a bottle.r

SvBottle filling apparatus, including a frame, a pair of shafts, afeeding arm on each shaft, means fixed in the frame for causing relativerotation of the shafts to grip a bottle, means for causing substantiallysimultaneous endwise movement of the shafts relative to the frame whilea bottle is gripped, and connections between the first mentioned meansand the shafts effective in different endwise'adjusted positions of theshafts.

10.` Bottle filling apparatus, including` a pair of shafts, a feedingarm on each shaft, means for causing relative rotation of the shafts togrip a bottle, `means for Causing substantially simultaneous endwisemovement of the shafts while abottle is gripped, and

, means for causing substantially simultaneous rotation o-f the shaftsto move agripped bottle sidewise.

` `l1. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a pair offeeding arms, ajpair ,of links connected to each other at one end andhaving their remote ends pivoted in the arms, means for moving thearmsjtoward one another to grip bottles between the arms and ythe'links, and means for moving the arms t0- ceso gether to feed bottlessidewise.

12. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a pair offeeding arms, a pair of links connected to each other at one end andhaving their remote ends pivoted in the arms, means for moving the armstoward one another to gripbottles between the arms and the links, meansfor moving the arms together to feed bottles sidewise, and means formoving the arms along their axis of rotationl to cause axial movement ofthe gripped bottles.

`13.` A bottle filling machine, including a l filling head, a pair offeeding arms therefor,

means for normally urging the arms together to grip the bottles, a camfollower operatively connected to each arm, and a cam for each follower,the cams being adapted to spread the arms to permit entry of a bottletherebetween. 14. A bottle filling machine, including a filling head, apair of feeding arms therefor, means for normally urging the armstogether to grip the bottles, a cam follower operatively connected toeach arm, and a cam for each follower, the cams being adapted to spreadthe arms to permit entry of a bottle therebetween, said cams beingfurther so shaped that the arm urging means may move the arms toward oneanother after the spreading movement, the followers being free to leavethe cams.

15. A bottle filling machine, including a I the followers being free toleave the cams, the

cams being further adapted to cause movement of the arms sidewise tofeed a gripped bottle to the filling head.

16. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a shaftsubstantially parallel to the axis of the fillinghead and carrying afeeding arm, a sleeve around the shaft carrying a cooperating feedingarm, cam followers operatively connected to the shafts and adapted torotate the same, and cams for the followers,said cams being adapted toseparate the arms and to move the arms sidewise.

17. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a shaftsubstantially parallel to the axisof the filling head and carryingafeeding arm, a sleeve around the shaft carrying a cooperating feedingarm, cam followers operatively connected to the shafts and adapted torotate the same, cams for the followers, said cams being adapted toseparate the arms and to move the arms sidewise, and means for movingthe shafts endwise to cause axial movement of a gripped bottle.

18. Bottle filling apparatus, including a filling head, a shaftsubstantially parallel to t-he axis of the filling head and carrying afeeding arm, a sleeve around the shaft carryl plunger for moving bottlesaxially into the filling head and permitting axial movement of a filledbottle from the head, and a connection between the plunger and theshafts whereby the arms are moved with the plunger.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

PATRICK W. SHIELDS.

